


The River's Destiny

by TheRepeat



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Character Study, Ethics of energybending, Gen, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25345039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRepeat/pseuds/TheRepeat
Summary: All is never well in the world of the Avatar, but for Jeong Jeong, his role is finished. In his retirement, he calls Avatar Aang to his remote dwelling with a mysterious request:“I wish to be free from the curse of firebending.”
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	The River's Destiny

“We make some WEIRD friends, huh.”

“Sokka, move your feet.” Katara smacked her brother on the leg. “The saddle isn’t big enough for you to lounge around like that when all of us are in here!”

Rolling his eyes, Sokka pulled his legs up to his chest. Katara, Toph, and Zuko relaxed more now that they had more leg room. “I’m just sayin’, it’s a weird trip that gets all of Team Avatar back together. It’s not like he’s _dying.”_ He paused—then, his eyes shot forward to the rider at Appa’s reins. “He’s, uh, NOT dying, right Aang?”

The sky was tinted a warm orange from the evening sun—from here, the sun almost appeared to be setting directly between two particular mountains in this range. Aang smiled at the view. “I doubt it, Sokka. His letter seemed really—I dunno, hopeful?”

“You got that from his writing?” Zuko asked.

“It’s just a feeling!” Aang patted his waistband: “I have it right here if you want to read it. Maybe you’ll see what I mean!”

“I read it before we left,” Zuko said. “I was surprised we’d ever hear from Jeong Jeong again after he helped my uncle retake Ba Sing Se, and now he asks you to come out here for ‘a request’?”

“I’m surprised too,” said Katara. “I’m glad we finally get the chance to properly thank him.”

Toph didn’t bother to stop picking her nose when she spoke. “I’ve always liked the guy, so I’m just here to say hey.”

The rest of the team frowned at her.

“Why DID you come with us, Toph?” Sokka asked. “You met Jeong Jeong for all of ten seconds.”

“Gee, good to see you too, old buddy.” Toph huffed, blowing a strand of hair off of her face. “I just heard the gang was going somewhere and thought I’d tag along, ‘kay? My students can take care of themselves for a couple days.”

“We’re almost there,” said Aang. “You see that peak on the left, the one with all the greenery? I think that’s where Jeong Jeong said he’ll be.”

“See, this is what I’m talkin’ about,” Sokka said, resting his cheek on his fist. “Weird friends. Who picks a random mountaintop in the middle of a bunch of other mountaintops as a meeting place? It’s a good thing I’m amazing with maps.”

“You’re truly a sight to behold,” Toph remarked.

The others stifled giggles.

Sokka glared at her. “So when I make that joke Katara smacks me, but when YOU—”

“Appa’s gonna start landing now!” Aang shouted over his shoulder.

The others braced themselves as the sky bison began his descent.

As Appa circled the mountain’s summit, Aang peered past his buddy’s right horn to get a view below. He grinned from ear to ear at what he saw: a stone path twisted up the side of the mountain, culminating at a small shrine on the summit, where a lone figure sat in a meditative pose. The circle of candles surrounding the person was unmistakable.

“It’s Jeong Jeong!” Aang called back to his friends. Plus a thumbs-up for good measure: “Great navigating, Sokka!”

“Oh, it’s all in a day’s work, no biggie.”

The widest path for Appa to land on was a short distance downhill from the summit. While the group was dismounting and stretching their stiff legs, Zuko squinted at the sun. “You weren’t kidding about “a day’s work”. It actually took us the entire day to get here.”

“We should start setting up camp, then.” Katara turned to Aang. “Jeong Jeong only specifically asked for you in his letter, Aang. You should go speak to him while we set up down here.”

“That’s a good idea.” He leaned in to give Katara a kiss on the cheek. “Be back soon, sweetie!”

“Heheh. Right back at you.”

* * *

It was a bit more of a hike than he’d expected, especially since the whole march was uphill. “Man, I should’ve just flown up here instead. Whew.” He stretched his arms up, then bent over to touch his toes, then finally approached the man at the mountain’s peak.

Jeong Jeong’s silhouette was unmistakable, even against the bright backdrop of the sunset. _That hair is something else._ The old firebender was watching the sun as he meditated, and as Aang came closer, he could hear the man’s purposeful deep breathing: slow breaths in, even slower exhales.

Aang grinned. “So even masters do those breathing exercises, huh?”

Jeong Jeong’s head turned very slightly. “Discipline is not a technique one can simply outgrow. A master could never forsake the very basics of his craft.”

“Ahh, right. Makes sense.” Aang scratched his head.

“Well? Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Do you forsake the basics?” Jeong Jeong turned more, enough for Aang to see a sharp glint in the old master’s eye. “Do YOU keep up with your breathing exercises? Surely your firebending master prescribed them to you as well!”

Aang went rigid. “Uh, yes sir! He sure did. Does. Yep, Zuko was always all, “hey, be sure to, uh, breathe. A lot.” Wouldn’t be much of a master without it, right? Haha…”

Jeong Jeong sighed, exasperated, and then returned his attention to the sunset.

Aang wriggled impatiently. “…So, uh, Jeong Jeong.” He plucked the folded parchment from its spot on his waistband. “I got this letter—”

“Yes. I’m pleased it reached you, and more so that you arrived so swiftly.” Jeong Jeong placed a hand on the stone beneath him and slowly pushed up to stand; once so, he faced Aang. “You have my thanks.”

“Hey, no problem,” Aang said. Jeong Jeong’s sudden solemnity was pretty weird, but hey, Aang definitely wasn’t going to question it. “It’s good to see you again, really!” He gestured at the letter. “You said you were gonna ask me a favor, but after all you did for me as a master, and especially what you did at Ba Sing Se, I’ll definitely honor whatever it is.” He placed his fist in his opposite palm and bowed. “As the Avatar and as a friend, I owe you.”

“…I see.” Jeong Jeong gestured at a spot by his side, inside the circle of candles. “Please, sit with me, Avatar.”

“Of course, Master.”

As Jeong Jeong returned to his position of meditation, Aang sat cross-legged next to him, closed his eyes, and smiled.

There was something different about being on _this_ side of Jeong Jeong’s candles. Something that set Aang’s heart at ease.

“The sun,” Jeong Jeong murmured. “The source of life, the beginning of all things. The origin of fire itself. Beautiful, is it not?”

Aang’s eyes were closed, but just the feeling of its warmth on his skin was unmistakable. “It really is.”

“If only all fire matched its serenity.”

Aang winced. He’d long overcome his fear of learning to firebend, but Jeong Jeong in particular bringing up this subject again made some painful memories arise for Aang.

“It can really hurt people if it isn’t controlled,” Aang whispered. “I’ve learned that lesson again and again.”

“Indeed.” Jeong Jeong’s eyes drifted shut. “Those of us burdened as fire’s caretakers must constantly rein in our yearning to conquer and destroy.”

Aang opened one eye, grinning a little. “I think you said “walking a razor’s edge between humanity and savagery” last time, Master.”

“Hush! My phrasing is no concern of yours.”

“Um, yes sir!” Aang twiddled his thumbs. “Thought it had a nicer ring to it the first time, though—”

“I said hush!”

“Yes sir!” Aang sat up straighter, though his posture was already fine.

Silence, for a few moments. From this high up, the wind was enough to drown out the sound of his friends setting up camp just down the path.

“…So, I mean, we’re not in any rush or anything, but—”

“The siege of Ba Sing Se was truly a spectacle.”

“Oh, okay, ignore me.”

Jeong Jeong inhaled deeply through his nose. “The rush of Sozin’s Comet… The undeniable maelstrom of flames I could unleash. As amazing power I couldn’t have previously comprehended rushed through me, I faced my greatest test. My inborn wish to destroy was at its greatest, and thus did my will have to match.”

Aang peeked at the old master and almost had to stop his jaw from dropping. Jeong Jeong wore a little smile: a victorious, satisfied smile. A show of happiness that Aang had never seen from the deserter.

“And thus my will did.” Jeong Jeong met Aang’s eye; Aang almost recoiled, as if he’d been caught for seeing such a forbidden sight. But the Avatar held his former master’s gaze. “Thus did I fulfill my role of ousting the Fire Nation from the great city’s walls.”

“I’m sure you were amazing,” Aang said. But, something was nagging at him. “…What… exactly, are you getting at, Jeong Jeong?”

“My role has been fulfilled,” the old master repeated. “My purpose, satisfied. I will no longer raise a hand in war, nor take part in the new world I had the privilege of helping you create. For the rest of my days, I wish only for peace.”

Still sitting, Jeong Jeong, with a grunt, turned himself to face Aang directly. Aang scooted to face Jeong Jeong in return.

“I have one great request to make of you before I confront this new life of peace,” Jeong Jeong explained. His smile was gone, replaced with an earnest, stoic expression. “I beseech you, Avatar. Please remove this curse—my ability to bend fire—as you did for Fire Lord Ozai.”

Aang’s eyes widened, and his jaw fell. Words failed him.

“I understand you may have trepidations,” Jeong Jeong continued. “This ability of yours, this… energybending, is one I never knew to be possible, and I cannot understand its limitations. I will not insist, but I do ask that you please consider my request before you leave.” He inclined his head reverently.

Aang, brain a bit fried, couldn’t do anything but bow back.

* * *

Now that camp was all set up, Sokka finally had all the legroom he needed, and he was taking advantage of it, sprawled out atop his sleeping bag (with his arms flopped out over the sides as if ready to make snow angels). “Well? How’d it go?”

Aang was holding his head as he approached, and the grin he’d been wearing when he left was gone.

Katara hurried over to him, concerned. She side-hugged him, rubbing his shoulders. “What’s wrong, Aang? What did he say?”

“Lemme guess: he gave you another leaf to keep from burning,” Sokka chimed in.

“Does it look like he’s carrying a leaf?” Toph snarked.

“That’s because it burned up already, _ergo,_ he’s upset!”

“I think he wouldn’t have any problems with something like that anymore, Sokka.” Sitting next to the campfire, Zuko gestured at Aang. “Go ahead, Aang. What’d he say?”

Aang was staring at the ground. His head was spinning. “He asked me to take away his firebending,” he murmured.

“What?!”

“No way!” Toph sat straight up. “Seriously?!”

“He asked you to take away _whose_ bending?” Sokka asked. He pointed at Zuko. “ _This_ Fire Lord’s, too?!”

“Stop it, Sokka, you know what he means,” Katara scolded. “Jeong Jeong’s _own_ bending.” She turned to Aang and started to guide him by the shoulders toward the campfire. “I knew he had some contempt for firebending compared to the other elements, but this…”

“I know,” Aang said. He sat down cross-legged in front of the fire. Sokka offered him a mollifying kebab of meat, but Aang _did_ have the sense to turn that down. “I didn’t think he’d ask me to do something like THIS!”

“What did you think he would ask for, then?” Zuko asked. “He’s a famous loner who swore off earthly possessions when he deserted the Fire Nation Army, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to ask a normal favor. I don’t know why we didn’t expect this.”

“I dunno… I was expecting some last tidbits of advice, maybe some good ol’ lecturing just like old times?” Aang let himself fall backwards to the dirt, while Katara sat down next to him. “Argh, I don’t know! As far as I know, permanently removing someone’s bending is, well, _permanent!_ This is crazy!”

“Do you know it’s permanent?” Toph asked. “Have you ever tried, y’know, reversing it?”

“I’ve only ever done it the one time, and it’s not like I’d TRY to give Ozai his bending back!” Aang ran a hand over his smooth head. “…I don’t know how he could ask for this. It’s not like he’s hurting anyone.”

The group pondered this for a moment.

“I wonder,” Katara murmured. “He’s been a bender his whole life… I wonder what it feels like to suddenly not have it anymore.” She glanced away from the camp; other mountains in the range were much taller, enough to have their summits obscured by clouds. “For me, I can kind of feel when there’s water nearby. Sometimes, without even thinking, I reach out just to feel the water around me, like in those clouds up there.” Her eyes turned down sadly. “It’d be like going back to when I was a child.”

Aang propped himself up on his elbows and frowned curiously. “Say… When did you discover you could waterbend, Katara?”

“Well, it was when I was a little girl,” Katara said. “Sometimes I could just… move water. It wasn’t until years later that it stopped feeling like “some little trick I can do” and started feeling like a… part of me.” She smiled slightly. “Honestly, I think it was after I met you, when I started really learning what I could _do_ with waterbending, that it started feeling like a sixth sense, almost.” She looked at Aang. “I remember what it was like when bending was no big deal. It wasn’t like I was doing badly, you know? I mean, _I_ would never want to go back to those days, but Jeong Jeong isn’t me.”

Aang frowned sadly. “Still… I haven’t known the other elements as long, but it’d be impossible for me to give up airbending. And I think Jeong Jeong was like me: trained in his bending since he was really young. It’d feel like losing a part of yourself.”

Sokka, still casually lounging on his sleeping bag, rolled his eyes. “Yikes, not having bending. What a nightmare!” He took a bite of his kebab. “Lishen.” He swallowed. “If he wants to ditch his superpower, let ‘im! He just becomes a normal guy. It’s not like it turns him into a cripple afterwards.” He took another bite.

“Yeah, unlike with me,” Toph added, and Sokka choked on his food.

After a few coughs, Sokka hung his head. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”

“Yeah, I know.” Toph lay back, head on her hands. “I know I’m not the best example for this.”

“I’d still like it if you weighed in,” Aang insisted. “I really could use everyone’s advice on this.”

The others exchanged glances, while Toph just shrugged. “I doubt Jeong Jeong’s bending is _quite_ as important to him as mine is to me. For me, it’d be like going blind, if you can IMAGINE the horror.”

“Sure, it’s not _as_ essential to him,” said Katara, “and of course he’d be able to survive without his bending. Jeong Jeong is very strong. But still…” Anxiously, she rubbed her arm. “Even though the rest of us don’t use bending _constantly_ and for _everything,_ it’d still be comparable. Like losing the ability to taste food.”

Color drained from Sokka’s face. “Okay, I’m on board with you now.”

“Sokka, be serious.”

“What isn’t serious about losing the only reason to live?!”

“We’re still talking about bending, right?”

Zuko leaned forward, a serious frown on his face. He chimed in at last: “Listen.” The sibling quarrel went silent. “I can identify with Jeong Jeong’s philosophy on firebending.”

Aang faced Zuko, an earnest look in his eyes. “Go on.”

“It’s different, being raised as a firebender,” Zuko said. “We’re always warned, _always,_ about how dangerous firebending is.” He pointed at Katara. “If I’d been untrained in it as long as you were with your waterbending, I probably would’ve seriously hurt myself, or someone else, at some point.”

Sokka interjected with a raised finger: “She’s frozen every one of my limbs in ice at some point! Waterbending is dangerous too!”

“Oh, relax,” Katara sighed.

At one time, Zuko might’ve gotten impatient with their interruptions, but they couldn’t faze him anymore. After how long it had been, he almost smiled at the nostalgia of waiting for Sokka to shut up. “I’m sure, Sokka. But anyway, the basics of firebending aren’t so easy when you’re a kid. I still have some burn scars that never healed.”

Sokka twiddled his thumbs, eyes darting this way and that. “But not as bad as, uh, the _one,_ right?”

Toph snorted. “What, wanna check him for scars yourself, Sokka?”

Zuko hugged his knees to his chest. “Uh, please don’t.”

The group laughed. Zuko actually did smile this time, followed by a little chuckle. _It’s been too long._

His smile wilted a little bit when he looked at Katara. She wasn’t devoid of humor—like Zuko, she was also smiling a bit, but she wasn’t laughing. And her eyes had a sorrow to them that showed that she had more to say.

“Katara?” Zuko asked.

Her eyes darted to him, then looked at the ground. “No, I…”

“If you have anything else to add, I could really use it,” Aang said. “Please, go ahead.”

Katara looked at the rest of the group. No more laughs, just attention. She took a deep breath.

“…I’m just, I’m not sure which side I’m on,” Katara said, with a light, nervous laugh. “On one hand, he’ll be okay… On the other, losing one’s bending is not at all easy to get over. Even being chi-blocked is bad enough, but permanently giving up on…?” Trailing off, she shook her head. “More than that, though… Fire might be more dangerous than water. I get that.” She looked Zuko in the eye. “But I think that’s not really a big difference. What really matters is _being_ a bender. Just _having_ bending puts extra responsibility in your hands. I’m up for it, and I always have been—I have an amazing power, and I want to use it for good however I can. But I can understand how that pressure could get to someone and make them want to get rid of it.”

Sokka’s brow furrowed. “Uh, I doubt that _that_ is what’s bothering Jeong Jeong, Katara. He’s definitely the “cool-under-pressure” type.”

“Sheesh, I’m talking about losing it _in general!”_ Katara snapped. “I doubt that Jeong Jeong is the _only_ time we’re ever going to have this conversation.”

Aang buried his face in his hands. “You’re right… I didn’t really think about it, but you’re totally right! I’ve always assumed that Ozai was the only person who I’d ever be able to use that technique on, that there couldn’t be someone as evil as him again—and if there were, then I’d use energybending to serve justice.” He lifted his head and looked around at his friends. “But that’s just it, this isn’t _about_ justice! Can I even use it for other reasons? Is that even right?”

Sokka sat up. “Uh, Aang—”

Aang was starting to hyperventilate. “Oh man, can I even do it at ALL? I haven’t been practicing! And, and I don’t even know if it’s _possible_ to use on someone who’s not a bad guy! How different is it when they’re not fighting back? Can I still lose? I almost lost when I was energybending Ozai, and Jeong Jeong’s definitely got willpower, right? What if it’s too hard?!” He scratched his head. “No, but that lion turtle didn’t have any trouble energybending _me_ when I let it… Or maybe it was just that much stronger—?!”

“Aang,” Katara said, and she wrapped her arms around him. Aang put his hand over hers and met her eye, still a little out of breath; she answered with a warm smile. “You should get some sleep. You still have time to make this decision in the morning.” She playfully poked him in the chest. “And you know Jeong Jeong will accept whatever answer you give him. You don’t need to worry this hard about it.”

“Yeah,” Toph said. “After all, Jeong Jeong’s mind is already made up. You just need to march right up to him and do it or don’t. That simple!”

Aang closed his eyes and sucked in a lungful of cool air. Then… a slow exhale. “…You’re right.” He patted Katara’s hand and finally returned her smile. “We should all get some sleep.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Sokka said, beaming. “Nighty night, folks!”

He immediately hopped inside his sleeping bag and rolled over. Toph quickly composed a rocky tent for herself, while Zuko extinguished the campfire with a swipe of his hand before heading for his sleeping bag as well.

Meanwhile, Katara and Aang hadn’t moved.

“…You don’t have to answer this right now,” Katara whispered. She touched her forehead against Aang’s. “Still… given everything we’ve talked about so far. Do you think you’re gonna do it?”

Aang sighed. “I don’t know. I want to help pay Jeong Jeong back for everything he’s done, for us and for Ba Sing Se, but… this doesn’t feel like I’m doing him a favor.”

“You’ll figure this out.” Katara pecked him on the lips. “…I know you will, sweetie.”

Aang was able to smile back at her.

Sokka continued to pretend to be asleep, the word “oogies” bouncing around his head.

* * *

“Come to speak to the traitor to your nation at last, Fire Lord?”

Zuko stopped in his tracks a few paces short of Jeong Jeong’s line of candles. “It would take one to know one, I guess,” he said.

“Ha. Is that the Iroh in you I hear?” With some effort betraying his age, Jeong Jeong managed to turn around to face the Fire Lord.

“Just might be.” Zuko lowered himself to rest on his knees. “The Deserter, in the flesh. General Jeong Jeong.”

“A dead man,” the master replied. “A forsaken man.”

“It’s an honor,” said Zuko.

“The honor is mine. After all,” Jeong Jeong’s eyes narrowed, “you managed to achieve the impossible, and actually forged something resembling a firebender from that scrawny Avatar.”

“Heh. Let’s say the teaching was mutual.”

“Mm.” Jeong Jeong placed his hands in his lap and waited, scrutinizing Zuko.

The Fire Lord didn’t need to be told that it was his turn to speak. “General—”

“That general is a dead man,” Jeong Jeong repeated.

Zuko frowned. “…Jeong Jeong. Do you really… see firebending as a curse? And nothing BUT a curse?”

Jeong Jeong continued to stare, correctly guessing that Zuko wasn’t done.

“It feels to me…” Zuko crafted a small ember contained between his palms, “…like an extension of my being, like a sword extends the arm. As important as it is, it’s just a tool, isn’t it? Something that can be, and has been, misused, but not evil in itself.”

Jeong Jeong took a slow breath, a cooling breath. “A comparison of firebending to a tool is an amusing analogy, but a trite one that crumbles when examined. Surely, Fire Lord, you also feel the flames in your heart, ablaze betwixt your very _soul,_ that hungers to conquer, to destroy, to consume.”

Zuko’s gaze turned downward. “I… know what you mean,” he admitted. “It’s made me stronger, and stupider sometimes, but it’s something that can be controlled.” He looked back at Jeong Jeong, determined. “It can be mastered. I know you already know that.”

“And yet, it only proves my point,” Jeong Jeong continued, softer. “The need for self-mastery at all is itself the true shackle of firebending, and I wish to be free of it.”

Zuko sighed as what he already knew was reaffirmed: there was no convincing the deserter to change his mind. But that was only a small part of why Zuko came up here, and the rest was harder.

“Do you…” Zuko’s voice wavered. “Do you see this as… an _inevitability?”_

Jeong Jeong raised an eyebrow.

“If you feel this strongly, then, do you think that the world would be better off _without_ firebending?” Zuko continued. His fists were clenched in his lap, but his eye contact held strong. “Is… Is the loss of bending… the best possible fate for every firebender?”

“Mmm…” A long, thoughtful hum escaped the old master, who closed his eyes as he pondered the question.

Zuko itched as the seconds ticked by. His skin felt as if it were crawling, and the fire in his soul, ever present, flickered uncertainly.

“…I… do not know, Fire Lord.” Jeong Jeong’s eyes opened. “I have no answer.”

A number of replies crossed Zuko’s mind. Perhaps, “does that mean yes?” Or “You’re a master, how could you be so indecisive?” Or “That’s a cop-out!” maybe. But as he looked into Jeong Jeong’s eyes, searching desperately for an answer, he spotted something that arrested his thoughts:

Exhaustion. Exasperation. Utter… finality.

Jeong Jeong continued at long last. “To imply that firebending causes nothing but pain is myopic. But now, in this moment, in the _short term,_ I behold freedom within my own grasp, and I intend to take this chance if the Avatar allows it.” His gaze was softer than ever. “…I cannot answer your question, Fire Lord. The sum of my experience has brought my path here, to this personal truth. Perhaps, when your role has itself been completed as mine has, you can confront this question once again and see what truth all of _your_ experience has led you toward.” He inclined his head respectfully. “Rest well, Your Highness.”

Zuko placed a hand on the floor and leveraged it to climb to his feet. Fist in palm, he bowed back to Jeong Jeong. “Thank you, Jeong Jeong. I appreciate you being so upfront.”

“Mm.”

Zuko’s fists did not unclench the full walk back to camp.

* * *

The sunrise was beautiful.

As opposed to the silhouette the sunset had made of Jeong Jeong, the sunrise instead lit him perfectly for the team to see. Like yesterday, he sat amid his circle of candles, as if he’d never moved. Perhaps he hadn’t.

The others wore mixed expressions of uncertainty, eagerness, and curiosity, and they hung back when Aang continued forward. Determination and a touch of sorrow graced the Avatar’s expression, and he stopped just outside of Jeong Jeong’s candle circle.

“Jeong Jeong,” Aang said. “I’ve made a decision.”

Jeong Jeong watched the Avatar with sharp eyes, not a flicker of emotion behind his façade.

“If you’re totally sure that it’s what you want, then…” Aang took a deep breath. “Then I’ll take away your bending. If it’s truly the _only_ thing I can do for you, then I’ll pull through on what I said before and honor your request.”

Jeong Jeong closed his eyes and nodded.

“…Okay then.” With glances over his shoulder at his friends—getting a reassuring smile from Katara and an eager thumbs-up and grin from Toph—Aang stepped inside the circle of candles.

Jeong Jeong’s eyes remained closed, and he did not shift from his kneeling position. He tilted his head up in expectation.

The left hand placed on a shoulder for support. The right palm pressing against the forehead, fingertips reaching for the crown of the head.

Aang felt Jeong Jeong’s chi stirring in anticipation. Two chakras awaited Aang’s command.

When Aang closed his eyes, all was normal.

When they reopened, they were a blinding white.

Katara covered her mouth with her hands. Aang’s tattoos were alight, and a brilliant shine now emanated from his points of contact with Jeong Jeong.

Zuko couldn’t help but murmur a surprised “Wow.”

“Really doesn’t get old, huh?” Sokka whispered.

For an instant, Aang could feel it: an unmistakable shimmer of resistance, a wall of willpower deterring his approach. But just as soon as he encountered it, it fell away. In the physical, Jeong Jeong’s shoulders slumped and he exhaled, all tension leaving his body.

Aang’s expression in the Avatar State was blank, always foretelling of a quiet rage, but in his heart, he could only marvel. He could feel the chi flowing through Jeong Jeong, where they pooled in his seven chakras, and he could feel an intimate sense of peace, acceptance, and trust.

That peaceful feeling seeped through Aang as well. The absolute faith Jeong Jeong had in him, the Avatar, Aang, despite all surface appearances—an incorruptible, inner honesty that transcended even Toph’s ability to sense the truth. Jeong Jeong trusted and respected Aang, without reservation.

Even in the stoic Avatar State, tears still welled in his eyes.

…However… he had a job to finish.

And finish it he did.

The glow faded from Aang’s tattoos, and his eyes lost their luster; he stumbled as the power of his past lives escaped him, but Katara was quick to steady him.

Jeong Jeong doubled over, gasping for air, his sweaty hands catching him before his forehead would meet stone.

A leaf was resting on the ground next to his hand. Though breath still eluded him, Jeong Jeong still moved his shaking hand toward it, until he grasped it between two fingers.

His grip tightened, his eyebrows furrowed…

…And the leaf remained steady, unharmed. A hidden smile came to the deserter’s face.

“Jeong Jeong, are you okay?” Sokka asked, rushing over.

Smile vanishing, Jeong Jeong dropped the leaf and waved away Sokka’s aid without a word. Grunting, he pushed away from the ground and stood.

Sokka crossed his arms, frowning at the old master. “Sooo… about that whole “desire to destroy” thing you talked about earlier.” He scratched his chin. “Uh… how is it now?”

Jeong Jeong clenched and unclenched his fists. “…Only time will tell. But nevertheless, it feels as if a grand weight has lifted from my shoulders.” He glanced at Zuko, then Aang. “Perhaps now, I can finally find peace.”

* * *

The return flight to Ba Sing Se wouldn’t be short, so the goodbyes were quick. Once everyone was packed and boarded, Appa carried the team away from the mountain.

As Appa banked to head east, Aang was able to look down at the mountaintop. Jeong Jeong still sat in the center of his candle circle, meditating, as if nothing had changed between yesterday and today.

Aang took a deep breath as Appa straightened out and began his long flight.

A strange awkwardness hung in the air that made it hard to speak for the rest of the team. Was what happened down there heartwarming or tragic? Should they congratulate Aang on performing such a spectacular feat or console him for having to perform it?

In the end, it was Zuko who addressed the elephant in the room.

“So that was energybending.”

Aang bobbed his head. “Yyyup.”

Another moment of quiet.

Sokka coughed.

Zuko spoke again. “Did it feel different?”

“It really did,” Aang answered.

For an instant, it appeared as if that were his whole answer, and the quiet would return; if that had been the case, Zuko would’ve assumed Aang was done talking about it, and would have stopped prying.

But Aang _wasn’t_ done, and he turned around to face the rest of the gang. “It really would’ve felt wrong to refuse to take away his bending. But I can’t stop thinking about what kind of precedent this sets. Energybending is a whole lot better than killing, but it isn’t exactly pacifism. So, if I think of energybending as another kind of violence, then… what if somebody else asked me to do it to them? Somebody who might not trust themself as much as we know Jeong Jeong does?” He shook his head. “If energybending is its own kind of violence, then what if someone we know, someone we _trust,_ asks me to do a _different_ kind of violence to them?”

The others didn’t _exactly_ have a prepared response to that, but Aang wasn’t _exactly_ done anyway.

“This was definitely different than how it was when I took away Ozai’s bending,” Aang said. “He didn’t resist at all, so it was like I could see into his heart.” He leveled a hand with the crown of his head. “I could feel the flow from his seventh chakra,” he lowered his hand to his forehead, “to the sixth,” and his hand thus flowed in downward in a straight line, “and through all the rest of his chakras. I practically had complete control over the flow of his body’s energy.”

His eyes carried determination. “I could take away his bending, but I _definitely_ could’ve given it back.”

Zuko’s eyebrows raised, and Katara clapped her hands, beaming. “Oh, that’s _great,_ Aang! Even if Jeong Jeong won’t ever want his bending back, it’s good to know that you can do that!” She turned to her brother. “Right, Sokka?”

Sokka’s eyes averted, and he didn’t answer.

Katara’s smile drooped at the edges. “…Sokka?”

“…Nothing. Yeah, it’s great for him.” Sokka cleared his throat.

“What’s wrong?”

Sokka sighed, annoyed, and looked away from the others. “Really, it’s nothing.”

“C’mon, Sokka.” Aang crossed his arms. “You know we’ve gotta ask when the funny guy gets like this.”

Sokka groaned. “The curse of being so HILARIOUS all the time…” He shook his head. “It’s stupid, okay? It’s petty, and it’s unreasonable, and it’s jealous.”

“We’ll listen anyway,” Zuko said. “What’s on your mind?”

Sokka sighed again, this one less annoyed and more pensive. “I know that it’s a good thing you can _undo_ your whole Bending-Be-Gone trick, but I just—I hate the feeling that it’s got no _consequence,_ you know?” He gestured down at the mountains, presumably indicating Jeong Jeong, who was long out of sight. “A huge decision like _that_ can just be undone. Poof!”

The others didn’t immediately reply, so Sokka started to go on the defensive. “Listen, I said it was stupid, and—”

“Nah, I’m with you, Sokka,” Toph chimed in. “That’s super lame.”

“Even you, Toph?” Katara said. “I’d think you would be the MOST ecstatic about that, since you use your bending so much more than all of us.”

Toph shrugged. “Sounds to me like this whole “energybending” thing takes a page out of airbending.”

Aang had to laugh. “Hahaha, _what?_ You’re really making this about AIRBENDING again?”

“Look, I’m just sayin’: when you throw a rock, it _stays_ thrown. When you stop a rock, it _stays_ stopped. None of this wishy-washy stuff, being able to take back whatever you do. Whether it’s your airbender tricks or this energybending stuff.” She pointed two fingers at her eyes. “It’d be like if someone could suddenly give me back a reason to use _these_ two dumb things. I—don’t—like it.” She crossed her arms and sat back against the saddle’s rim.

Aang thought about that for a minute. It made sense, but… “I don’t think it _is_ consequence-free, though. Energybending is its own kind of violence. Even if it doesn’t kill someone, it still scars and deforms and CHANGES.” He laughed. “I think Jeong Jeong would spit in my face if I gave him his bending back, now that he knows what it’s like to not have it.”

“ASSUMING he’s happier without bending,” Sokka pointed out, with a grin. “I mean, who knows? Maybe he finally realizes how much HARDER I have it as a non-bender compared to all of you, and he changes his mind back!”

“Oh, you’re _such_ a helpless victim, Sokka,” Katara snarked, putting a hand over her heart with an air of mock concern. “Do you need a backrub?”

“Yes, please! And Aang, you get my feet!”

The group laughed.

Aang’s petered out a little shorter as he got to thinking. “…Oh, man, what if he DOES change his mind? I don’t want to come back here and have this whole ethical dilemma again!” He flopped backwards into Appa’s fur with an exasperated groan. “If it means I never have to struggle about this again, then I wish somebody would just come energybend MY energybending away!”

The group laughed again, louder. Aang joined in, the loudest laugher of the bunch.

Appa continued to fly eastward, toward the rising sun and a new day.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been feeling like experimenting a lot with my writing these days, and here's a story that's come from that. I really focused on the dialogue here to try to make it sound like the real deal. If I couldn't hear the voice actors saying it, I rephrased it! Jeong Jeong and Sokka are easily the most fun, for completely different reasons.
> 
> Avatar is my favorite TV show of all time, but I honestly didn't think I'd ever write anything for it. I don't like writing about a lot of my favorite things, because I'd rather consume them than create them, if that makes sense? Like, I have never and will never write for some of my favorite video games, because they already feel complete. But I've been on an Avatar kick lately, and I actually somehow thought up an idea I liked! Hope you liked it too.
> 
> If it’s been a while since you’ve watched the series and you’re wondering about the title, it’s from this:
> 
> “Destiny? What would a boy know of destiny? If a fish lives its whole life in this river, does he know the river’s destiny? No! Only that it runs on and on, out of his control. He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end. He cannot imagine the ocean.” S1E16 – “The Deserter”


End file.
